The present invention relates to space-discharge electronic devices. The invention is particularly useful in flash X-ray tubes, and is therefore described below with respect to this application.
Flash X-ray tubes are used in radiography for the study of high-speed transient phenomena of opaque media or luminous object in such fields as ballistics, shock waves and medicine. In such applications, it is particularly desirable to have a small size X-ray source to enable high-quality, low penumbera radiographs to be taken at small source-to-object distances. It is also desirable that the X-ray tube be of a design which minimizes or eliminates the need for heavy tube protection against fragments and shocks.